Butternut Squash Whole-Wheat Mac & Cheese

Today I’m in three places at once. Besides talking turkey around here, I’m also having a little Q & A time with the lovely Kelsey, a.k.a, The Naptime Chef in her famous ‘Tales from the Trenches’ series.

I’m also sharing a recipe for Butternut Squash Whole-Wheat Mac & Cheese over at The Family Kitchen on Babble. It’s one of our favorite meatless main dishes, and seasonal, too!

This recipe is surprisingly healthy for mac & cheese, as it incorporates nearly an entire squash and uses whole-wheat egg-white pasta for a substantial and low-cholesterol meal. I love this dish because it feels like a hearty main dish even though it is meatless.

Hit the jump for the recipe and be sure to check out my interview on The Family Kitchen, which includes tips for cooking this dish ahead of time, and including children in the whole process.

Wash and peel squash; trim ends. With a sharp chef’s knife, cut bottom third off of the squash, then halve that and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Chop the entire squash into roughly 1-½ inch pieces.

Place squash in a medium pot and fill with cold water. Add a ½ teaspoon of salt and place over high heat. Cover pot, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender; about 10 minutes.

Drain, return the squash to the pot and mash with a potato masher or whirl with an immersion blender.

Notes

Puree can be made up to one day in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container.

To reheat, remove wrapping and place in a 350F oven. Bake until heated through and bubbly around the edges.

3.2.2925

About Aimee

Cooking has always been Aimée's preferred recreational activity, creative outlet, and source of relaxation. After nearly ten years in the professional cooking industry, she went from restaurant to RSS by trading her tongs and clogs for cookie cutters and a laptop, serving as editor here at Simple Bites. Her first book, Brown Eggs and Jam Jars - Family Recipes from the Kitchen of Simple Bites, was published in February 2015.

As a person who really does not like squash that much, yet realizes how healthy it is, I decided to give this recipe a try. We only eat whole wheat pasta, so that was not new to us, just the squash component. We are not able to do a lot of dairy (yes, it begs the question but…) so I didn’t use milk, but subbed in chicken broth and a broth cube with water. I added Italian seasoning to the gravy, too. Whole wheat bow tie pasta… mixed it all and topped it with Italian seasoned bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. I put 1/2 in an 8×8 pan and the rest in aluminum disposable pot pie pans and froze them. It was yummy. I can’t taste the squash at all, which is probably the point. My squash phobic hubby refused to try it and my 2 year old spit it out… I still love it and will make it again.

A couple of thoughts for next time. One big squash made enough for 2 batches of this. I froze the other 1/2 and will use it next time. And, as no one else will be eating it, I think adding button mushrooms to the onion mix would be super yummy, too.

Thanks for the recipe – it’s a keeper, at least for the mom in the family!

I have made something similar, but my kids could still taste the butternut squash and while they LOVE butternut squash they were not happy about it being in the mac and cheese. So I found that if you add an oz or two of cream cheese it really adds an extra layer of creamy cheese flavor and really really hides the butternut squash.

You can make Monster Slime mac and cheese by using pureed broccoli or spinach instead of butternut squash.

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I'm Aimée, editor of this blog devoted to family focused food - with a little urban homesteading in the mix. This is an encouraging community that offers comprehensive recipes, simple preserving tutorials, and honest tips for cooking with kids. This is our family food life. Join us!
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